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Old Sep 17th, 2006, 09:42 PM
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Singapore Restaurants: Help me update my list

I've just learned that I知 going to be traveling to Singapore about once a month. I will be entertaining clients there so I知 looking for a list of restaurants, both for myself and for my customers.

My clients tend to be a well traveled and sophisticated group, but their taste in food varies widely; some like Asian/some prefer Western; some tolerate spicy/some break out in hives around a chili; some are more adventurous/some play it safe.

My criteria are good food, good service, wine served, no buffet, no food courts. Price is not so much an issue as ambience. We want to be able to relax and talk.

I知 more interested in stand alone restaurants than those in hotels, but can be flexible on this point.

So far my list includes:
Le Paillon
Halia
Doc Cheng & Steak Restaurant at Raffles

I'd appreciate some suggestions.
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Old Sep 18th, 2006, 02:14 AM
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Marmot,

Just tried a new restaurant last week that fits your description perfectly. It's called Song of India. Located in a gorgeous old colonial black and white house on Scott's Road, just down from the Sheraton. The new owners spent over two million dollars renovating the interior and it shows. Absolutely elegant. Two private dining rooms as well. Riedel glassware for the extensive wine list, Narumi china and Cristofle flatware. The chef comes from Rang Mahal, one of the top Indian restaurants in the city and the modern Indian menu is creative and sophisticated. I just booked a reservation to go back again this week with different friends. They have a $28++ tasting menu for lunch that is an amazing value, because after you have tasted the 5-6 different dishes on the set menu, they will bring you unlimited amounts of whatever you like the best. Phone number is 65-6836-0055.

Another suggestion, also in a black and white colonial house, is Flutes at the Fort, just at the base of Ft. Canning. You can eat on the verandah, which is comfortable even during the day, as they have plenty of ceiling fans. Modern Australian menu featuring a variety of seafood and meat dishes, good wine selection.

Club Street has quite a few restaurants that also fit your need. Senso and Indochine are two that come immediately to mind.

There are several places that do a wonderful Yu Sheng platter (unique to Singapore) at Chinese New Year, which is a very auspicious thing before you talk business.

Let me know if you are looking in a particular part of town and I can make some more suggestions.
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Old Sep 18th, 2006, 07:33 AM
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Lindsay, I'm going to make note of your suggestions for my next trip to Singapore!

Doc Cheng's is one of my favorite restaurants in Singapore. Annother place with great ambiance is Les Amis au Jardin, located in the botanical gardens. The food is French and really special. (It used to be open at lunch time, which was our favorite time to eat there, with the lush views. Last time we were in Singapore they were no longer open at mid-day, only for dinner.

Oh, and a place that sounded like a great idea but was not: the restaurant at the top of the Swisshotel the Stamford. There are two resturants, one with a buffet and the other a very fancy (in this case, read stuffy - worst attitude in service I've experienced in Singapore!) restaurant. Sorry, I can't seem to find the name. Anyway, we used to eat the fabulous seafood buffet when it was a Westin, and the view is stunning. This restuarant is not.
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Old Sep 18th, 2006, 08:00 AM
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lindsey, sounds like song of india might be the place for the singapore gtg.

senso and indochine, what type of cuisine?
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Old Sep 18th, 2006, 03:22 PM
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Ken, Song of India could easily work for a GTG. Lunch is the better option there, with the set menu at $28. Dinner is a la carte and fairly pricey.
In a separate email to you, I had also suggested Din Tai Fung as a possibility, at the Wisma Atria shopping center on Orchard. It's a Singapore outlet of a famous Taiwanese dumpling restaurant. Not upmarket enough for Marmot to take clients, but VERY good food.

Senso is sophisticated, upmarket Italian. At lunchtime it attracts a lot of very chic people from the advertising industry..... Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar have become the hip place to have an office if you are in the creative business.

Indochine is a variety of Cambodian, Vietnamese and Laotian dishes. There are actually several locations for Indochine around town. I prefer the one on Club St for lunch, but the one on the river is spectacular for dinner. It's attached to the back of the Asian Civilizations Museum and you dine on a terrace outside, facing the lit up shophouses on Boat Quay on the other side of the river, with the highrise office buildings of modern Singapore behind them.

If this the GTG was in Feb, I would definitely suggest Hua Ting in the Orchard Hotel, to toss Yu Sheng and bring prosperity on ourselves for the New Year. You might to come back for that! It's very festive.

I know Marmot was not as keen on hotel restaurants, but Singapore is the one place I have lived where some of the best restaurants are actually in the hotels. Raffles, Fullerton, Goodwood Park, Four Seasons, etc all have several great restaurants.

Lunches work better for me for the GTG....with a school age child and a traveling hubbie, I am often carpool driving in the afternoon/early evening. how is October 16?

Since you are the visitor, you get to pick the cuisine.

Oh, just thought of one other option....have you tried steamboat? That's where the tables are fitted with a litle cooking burner. The waiter brings a pot of boiling stock to your table, along with a whole bunch of ngredients of your choice (veg, seafood, noodles, meat, condiments) and you create your own custom soup, by cooking them in the stock.


That's the big problem with eating out in Singapore......TOO MANY CHOICES!!
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Old Sep 18th, 2006, 04:47 PM
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1. True Blue( Paranakan food). Upstairs above a chinese shophouse....in a Paranakan area. Great food...elegant, but not stuffy...small intimate...make a reservation. 117 East coast Road. Tel. 64.40.04.49 This restaurant is owned by Benjamin my Kebaya maker who has his kebaya shop downstairs and the restaurant upstairs.
2.Indochine on Club Street...great for lunch.
3.Sabai Thai restaurant in Ngee Ann City shopping mall on Orchard Road. This restaurant is across from the Sanur Indonesian restaurant that's always crowded, but that I haven't tried yet.
4. Lei Garden Chinese restaurant in the Chijmes complex across from the Raffles City mall and Raffles Hotel area. Great place for dinner and to take clients. Just make a reservation...and sit upstairs.
5. Marmelade Restaurant in the same building complex on Orchard Road that houses the Jim Thompson Store. The restauarnt is in the basement. Make a reservation. Very popular. Has western-style food on the menu,too.
6.California Pizza Kitchen...Orchard Road...if you desire pizza and pasta
Happy Travels!
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Old Sep 18th, 2006, 05:48 PM
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Hmm.. No mention of any place in CHJMES? It's been quite a while since I was there, but they had a really good Mediteranean restaurant. There was also a really good wine bar/restaurant upstairs in the old gym, but I think it might have changed hands recently.

Others have mentioned Indochine, but didn't say which one. There's one in the museum and one in Clarke Quay, which has been getting a major facelift and is now much more up-market than it originally was.
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Old Sep 18th, 2006, 06:19 PM
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lindsey, din tai fung it is. the date is ok too. dw loves taiwanese food, and i think i know the location. is there a nude restaurant located there?

you are right, soooo many great places to eat in singapore. i wonder if that russian place is still there, where you go into the igloo room, and have shots of vodka.

i hope others will join us.

guen, thanks for the restaurant suggetions. i think i will try the true blue, but forget the cpk. i like to go to chijimes when they have live music. bil loves that place also.

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Old Sep 18th, 2006, 06:19 PM
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We ate in an Italian place in CJIMES our last trip. It was good but not special.
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Old Sep 18th, 2006, 10:21 PM
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Anyone tried Rochester Park? I love the tropical ambience. Couple of nice restaurants there like Min Jiang and Da Paolo Bistro Bar, No. 3 Rochester Park.

You might also want to check restaurant reviews at http://wineanddine.asiaone.com.sg/
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Old Sep 19th, 2006, 01:53 AM
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Michael, the Mediterranean place in Chjimes is Esmirada. It's still there, but there is a newer one on the corner of Orange Grove Rd and Orchard Rd that most people seem to like better. they still do the Zorba music and plate smashing thing on Sat nights and you get fabulous free tiramisu if it's your birthday.

The restaurant run by the Indochine people at Clarke Quay is called Forbidden City. I have never been because everyone I know who has tried says the food is not bad, but the service is miserable. I like the Indochine in back of the ACM for dinner and the one on Club St for lunch.

I like Marmalade also. Good place for lunch, but you do need a reservation. Always busy. It's run by the people who run Pierside, over in One Fullerton, overlooking the water.

Just got back from trying a new place for lunch today.....Mr. Prata, on Evans Rd near the Botanical Garden. Open 24/7, so it's good if you are looking for food after a late night out. I had a very good chicken murtaba and a yummy cheese prata for $SG 7. They have a whole menu of other Indian food and some interesting dessert pratas, but we were too full to try them. Good "teh tarik" and "kopi ice" also. That's pulled tea and iced coffee, for those not familiar with the terms.

Ken, yes there is a restaurant at Wisma called Nude. I believe that one is run by the Indochine people as well. Have not tried it.

Tintin, I have heard great things about the Min Jiang at Rochester Park. I have it on my calendar to try week after next for dinner. It's the same people who run the Min Jiang at Goodwood Park and I understand Peking duck is the specialty. Do you live in SG? Will you join me and Kuranosuke (Ken) for dumplings at Din Tai Fung on Oct 16?
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Old Sep 19th, 2006, 05:36 AM
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Do give us a review of the Peking Duck! I want to know if they do it as well as China House at the Oriental in Bangkok!
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Old Sep 19th, 2006, 06:35 AM
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MichaelBKK...Read my post above yours which answers some of your questions. Happy Travels!
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Old Sep 19th, 2006, 10:44 PM
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Thanks everyone, this is a terrific response! I'll be in Singapore next week -- how will I ever choose?

Question about the restaurant in the Botanical Gardens -- Are there two, Halia and Les Amis?

Many years ago I liked Shrooms at Chijmes. Still there?
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Old Sep 20th, 2006, 03:03 AM
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Marmot,

Shrooms is long gone. And yes, Halia and Les Amis au Jardin are two different restaurants. As Kathy mentioned, Les Amis is only open for dinner and Sunday brunch, with the exception of Fridays, when they now offer a set 4 course menu at lunch. It's much more "haute cuisine" than Halia....very much a special event kind of restaurant in a stunning old B&W house. I know they do have a website...if you google it you can probably see the menus.

Halia is more casual, with a nice mix of Western and local food (they do a pretty good Katong style laksa). The fun part of Halia is the glass on 3 sides, so you really feel as though you are wrapped in the rain forest, but still enjoying the comfort of air con.

you mentioned Le Paillon in your original post. I'm not familiar with that one.....do you know where it's located?
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Old Sep 20th, 2006, 03:17 AM
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Thanks for the Botanical clarification.

I mistyped; it's Papillon, on Maxwell Road. I think I got it from an airline magazine.
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Old Sep 20th, 2006, 07:02 AM
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Lindsey, I'm glad to hear that Les Amis now has a Friday set lunch. Next time we're planning to be in Singapore, I'll try to schedule a Friday just to eat at Les Amis again.

It really is special, Marmot. Do give us reviews of the places you try!
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Old Sep 20th, 2006, 08:54 AM
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I,ll add a few more to your growing list:

Some new places getting a lot of buzz:

Taste Paradise--48-49 Mosque St.

My Humble House--Esplanade Mall

Sage--11 Unity St. 02-12 Robertson Walk

Majestic in Majestic Hotel (an ultra boutique hotel)--31-37 Bukit Pasoh Rd.

Some old favorites, but in hotels:

Iggys--Regent Hotel

Embers--Hotel 1927

Summer Pavilion--Ritz Carlton ( a fabulous Yu Sheng & peking duck)

Jade--Fullerton
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Old Sep 20th, 2006, 03:35 PM
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Aha, mystery solved on Papillon. That one I have heard of. I believe it only opened in May. Don't know anyone who has been, so will be curious to hear, if you try it.


And YES, big thumbs up for Embers, the Majestic and Iggy's. All completely different, but all fabulous food. Iggy's only has about 4 tables and a handful of counter seats, so it's absolutely mandatory to book. They just got written up in a restaurant magazine as one of the top 10 restaurants in Asia.

Majestic and Embers are owned by the same person, who has bought blocks of old shophouses in Chinatown and converted them to quirky interesting boutique hotels with signature restaurants. Both restaurants are quite sophisticated....good food, well trained wait staff and chic clientele. Both good for business entertaining.
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Old Sep 26th, 2006, 08:34 PM
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We had a great couple days in Singapore. Chose the following restaurants by the dart-throwing technique. Will keep working through the list on future trips. Thanks to everyone for suggestions.

We had a late Sunday lunch/brunch at the Chinese restaurant at the Four Seasons. We chose it more for convenience but always find the quality to be good. They have a set brunch but we opted to order off the menue and had divine pork buns, a steamed cod with ginger sauce, minced pork and tofu and the ubiquitous green vegetable.

For dinner we went to Indochine Waterfront. It took us some time to get there as the taxi dropped us off at the far end of Boat Quay. Thank God for cell phones or we'd still be wandering through the gauntlet of seafood restaurants.

Felt the atmosphere and view at Indochine were charming. The food seemed a little bland (like they forgot to add the spices!), but we drank champagne and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The service was surprisingly good since this is what was most often criticized in the reviews I read.

Monday lunch was at Halia. Absolutely charming! We were going light so we just had one thing each -- the pasta with crab and chili and the chicken tandoori sandwich. Both were very good and the setting just couldn't have been prettier.

Monday dinner we went to Papillon, which is in the Red Dot Building, a newly renovated "design" center. The building itself and the bars and restaurants therein are self-consciously cool. Papillon is very simple to the point of austerity. It's understated and elegant but could have used some flowers or candles to warm it up a bit.

The food was very, very good. We started with a clear tomato broth and a signature appetiser of watermelon with herb cheese (sounds weird but it worked). Then had a cod with pesto on a potato risotto and a rack of lamb, followed by some sinful chocolate concoctions.

The quality and presentation were superb. The service delightful.

I hope this restaurant stays in business. When we arrived (early on Monday) we were the only guests but a few more showed up over the course of the evening.

The only negative was that the restaurant shares the building's restrooms and they are not up to Singapore's usual quality standards. This might be a problem for business entertaining.
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